Materials Flow Analysis in Latin America

Abstract

Based on a systematic and organized literature review, the academic production for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on Material Flow Analysis (MFA) was evaluated. This allowed us to know the research developments and to identify the influence of the “Barcelona School” (EB) and Professor Joan Martínez-Alier in this field of work in the region. The general balance of the literature reviewed (47 texts), shows the important influence of the EB for LAC: more than half of the publications have its origin, more than a third correspond to doctoral theses linked to the ICTA-UAB and 30% are published in journals originating in the ICTA-UAB. Thematically, the articles evaluated incorporate the main topics promoted by the EB. They are oriented towards studying the relationships between the metabolic dynamics of economies, environmental pressures and liabilities, and ecological distributive conflicts. These orientations correspond precisely to Professor Martínez-Alier’s central field of work: the link between ecological economics and political ecology. Methodologically, the potential and weaknesses of MFA were identified. Long-term material flow series have the potential to study large material-economic transitions, but little depth. Short and more detailed series, combining MFA with other methodologies, allow to better delve into the black box of energy-material flows and the environmental impacts of economic dynamics.